


The Story of Tonight

by funhousefreak



Series: Satisfaction (not) Guaranteed [4]
Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Internal Conflict, M/M, Misunderstandings, Secret Relationship, and everyone notices, assumptions of abuse, but everything's chill, finally talking about real issues, matt and tord are disasters, post-edd/tom marriage, tord is a mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-11-07 10:34:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17958848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/funhousefreak/pseuds/funhousefreak
Summary: Matt and Tord hang out with Edd and Tom for the first time since the latter duo got married. But their old feelings wreak havoc on their evening and friendships.





	The Story of Tonight

**Author's Note:**

> Hi friends! Welcome back to Satisfaction (not) Guaranteed! Sorry this is a bit later than I said I'd post this. My laptop had to have some work done, and I just got it back. 
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoy this next chapter! 
> 
> Note: I wrote the first 3 parts in 2016. I wrote this one entirely last week. So if the flow is off or the writing seems very different, that's why.
> 
> Other note: Tord has a lot of internal arguments in this. The two arguing voices are meant to be different sides of his consciousness. He does not have any sort of personality disorder or mental illness causing it. He just hasn't reconciled his thoughts into one coherent voice yet. As you read, you'll see what sort of things he's struggling with that cause this.
> 
> CW: the word "queer" is used by a character, but as an identity label, not a slur.

_Bang bang bang!_

The knocks were much louder and aggressive than Tord had meant. Had he put much more strength into it and not restrained his fist, it might have gone straight through the old wood. Though, frankly, he didn’t much care at this point. His tall ginger roommate next to him flinched at the noise, but he squeezed his hands into fists to compose himself. Tord paid neither movement any notice. He was fully absorbed in cruising through this evening and simply surviving, preferably without upsetting Matt.

_Why do you care what he thinks?_

**Because I need us to be on good terms.**

_Why?_

**Because I need him.**

_Why?_

**Because he’s all I’ve got.**

Matt noticed his friend’s intense stare. He uncurled his left fist and tapped the outside of Tord’s thigh. Tord looked at him, gaze still sharp like a knife, then glanced down at where he’d been hit. Matt’s hand was open—an invitation. Tord bit the inside of his cheek, weighing his options. He didn’t want Edd to think he had moved on, or that him and Matt were a thing. Sure, they _were_ a thing, but not romantically. But at the same time, some support and reassurance sounded really good right now. He let his logical arguments be drowned out by the voice inside his head chanting “I need him” and took Matt’s hand. Matt squeezed his hand lightly, flashing him a quick grin. Tord couldn’t muster the energy to return it, but he squeezed the ginger’s hand lightly. Matt’s smile grew a bit wider. Tord pretended not to notice.

Both were brought out of their thoughts by the front door swinging open. Tom’s face was as neutral as ever, but he eyed the two with curiosity. Matt tore his gaze away from Tord and turned his smile to Tom. He couldn’t help but feel knots tie themselves tightly in his stomach as Tom returned his friendly grin. He then glanced at Tord, his smile falling as he met eyes with the Norwegian. Tord looked like he was struggling not to grimace. Matt squeezed his companion’s hand again, this time as a warning.

**Don’t upset him, dumbfuck. He’ll ditch your ass for Tom’s in a heartbeat.**

Tom noticed the gesture and glanced down at their intertwined hands. When he looked up again, he shot Matt a questioning stare. Matt let his facial muscles relax and his mouth make a neutral line. He tried to convey the message that he’d explain later.

Tom seemed to get it, because he dropped his look and swung the door open all the way. He stepped backwards to allow the duo in.

“Welcome, nerds,” he chided, his familiar smirk stealing his expression.

“How gracious,” Tord scoffed with a roll of his eyes. He dropped Matt’s hand as he slid past Tom into the apartment. Matt held back the urge to shake his head in disappointment at Tord’s attitude. He always prayed Tord would try to be friendlier with Tom every time they hung out, but it was to no avail.

Instead, he chose to flash his grin at Tom again. “Thanks, Tom,” he said politely as he followed after Tord. Before he could finish getting through the doorway, Tom’s hand shot out and grasped Matt’s arm. Matt jumped a little, shocked at the movement and at being in contact with the love of his life.

“Are you okay?” he whispered, shooting a glance into the apartment at Tord’s back.

Matt swallowed the lump in his throat. His brain begged him to scream the truth at Tom, every last detail, all the secrets and unhealthy attachments. But his mouth wouldn’t let the words come out.

“Yeah. I’m fine,” he settled on, mustering his best fake smile. He tried to chuckle lightly to dismiss Tom’s fears, but the noise wouldn’t leave his throat. He was a good liar, but Tom saw through every bit of it.

“You know you can tell me if something’s going on, right?”

“Yeah.” Tom was giving him a skeptical, yet concerned look, so Matt tried to think of something to further soothe him. “Thanks, Tom, really. But I’m okay.”

Tom held his gaze for another second or two, as if searching for a hint of deceit in Matt’s eyes. Then, he let go of the other’s arm and moved to close the door. “Okay,” he concluded. Either Matt had sold the lie or Tom was dropping the issue. Probably the latter, knowing the eyeless man.

Matt found himself in the living room of the apartment. The space perfectly reflected the couple that lived there. On the walls and tables were photos of Tom and Edd and Matt and Tord. Most of the hung photos were from the wedding or honeymoon. There were several from the olden days, when all four of them lived together, before Tom even thought about proposing to Edd. The one hanging to the left of the TV caught Matt’s eye in particular. It was from the official wedding photo shoot. It was the four of them, posing formally before the alter. Tom and Edd were in their wedding suits, Tom with a green tie on, and Edd with a blue one. Matt stood to the side of Tom, his big, fake-ass smile glimmering in the sunlight. Tord was next to Edd looking similarly. Matt’s still not sure how he even got Tord to smile for the five seconds it took to take that photo. He distinctly remembered right before this part of the shoot began, Tord had been hiding out in his car desperately trying not to cry.

“Darling, please,” Matt recalled saying to him from the passenger seat. “Not right now. You’ll smear your make-up.”

Tord had shot him a glare for that comment, but upon seeing Matt’s face he dropped it. Matt wasn’t saying that because their looks were too important to this event to mess up, but because he knew discussing the real issue would just result in a breakdown. Tord sniffled for just a moment more before emerging from the old beat-up red sedan.

As Matt stared at the finished product, he realized the photographer and his editors must have edited Tord’s face a touch. He remembers Tord’s eyes being puffy and his face red after he left the car, despite how calm he’d tried to remain. Guess that wouldn’t do for what was supposed to be the happiest day of their best friends’ lives.

“Matt! Tord!”

Matt was drawn out from his recollections by the call of his cheery best friend. Edd was walking towards him from the kitchen, an apron draped over his favorite “Smeg Head” t-shirt. Matt’s face softened as he smiled at him. Edd pulled him into a tight hug, causing Matt to cough as the air was forced out of him. He had to admit though, he liked the affection. This was the longest any of them had gone without seeing each other in many years. Despite all the angst and bullshit, Matt couldn’t deny how much he’d actually missed his best friend.

Edd released him, a huge smile stealing his face. He then turned his attention towards Tord, who was standing nervously behind the sofa. Matt watched as Tord tried to keep a straight face, his facial muscles twitching. He eventually lost the battle, and a sad but gentle grin settled on his lips. Edd too wrapped him in a bear hug, but Tord didn’t cough or gasp. He was used to Edd’s gigantic hugs, after receiving them for two decades. Matt saw the blush that crept up his neck and face from the affection, but he said nothing. Tord weakly wrapped his arms around Edd’s figure to return the gesture. Edd held on a couple seconds longer than he had with Matt before releasing the blushing Norwegian. Tord attempted to fix his leather jacket, but he knew his cool persona was trashed after that experience.

“Have a seat!” Edd cried, gesturing to the sofa. “Dinner’s almost ready!”

Matt and Tord sat next to each other on the couch, each pressed against an armrest. They were sitting much farther apart than usual. Tom entered the room and noticed the tension between the duo. He flashed Matt the quickest look of concern before turning towards his husband.

“Anything I can do to help?” he asked, propping his elbows up on the bar.

“Yes, actually,” Edd said, his smile still as big and bold as earlier. “Can you set the table?”

“Course.” Tom slid behind his husband and opened cabinets and drawers as he gathered plates and utensils.

Matt glanced over at his fidgety companion. Tord was staring at the same photo Matt had been studying earlier. His hands messed with the zipper of his jacket. Matt mentally slapped himself for forgetting to remind Tord to bring his fidget cube. He was going to be nervous all evening without it. Matt slid his hand towards the shorter man, hoping he’d notice the movement. The jumpy man indeed did. He paused with his fidgeting, looking between Matt’s face and his hand several times. Tord finally landed on meeting Matt’s eyes. He shook his head softly as his hand lightly pushed Matt’s back towards him.

Matt felt the smallest twinge of hurt in his chest before he looked back towards the kitchen. Tom was staring at him again. Matt decided staring at the ground was his best bet, so he lowered his face as he felt warmth cover his cheeks.

“Ready!” Edd called shortly afterwards. He slipped his apron over his head flung it over the oven door handle. He and Tom carried the last dishes of the meal over to the table, Matt and Tord silently following them.

Dinner went surprisingly smoothly. They all made chit chat, Edd regaling the others about the adventures he and Tom had had on their honeymoon. Which were mostly just cases of Edd causing trouble and them having to do crazy shit to get out of it. Typical Edd. Tom would occasionally add details, but he mostly just rolled his eyes or argued over the way something happened. Matt kept trying to catch Tord’s eye to check on him, but the other man was enthralled by Edd’s stories, even if they weren’t that special from the adventures the four of them had done together in the old days. Edd then moved on to talking about how weird it is to live with only one other person, which Tord and Matt agreed with. Tom described his many irritating encounters with their landlord, a drunkard who tried to smash a liquor bottle over Tom’s head one night before proceeding to fall off the walkway of the second story. He was unharmed, miraculously, but Tom got a good laugh out of it.

“Karma,” he smugly declared. Edd chimed in with an “amen,” while Tord and Matt just laughed.

Tord made a snide comment about Tom calling karma on other drunks, which got the two in a friendly debate over Tom’s improving drinking habits. Edd shot Matt a smile, clearly glad the two were bickering jokingly rather than preparing to throw vases at each other’s heads. Matt returned the grin, feeling similarly.

When they were done eating, Tord offered to collect the dishes and Matt volunteered to put the leftovers away. Edd tried to insist they take some of the casserole home, but Tord said it’d “ruin their bachelor life style of eating pizza four times a week.” Edd dropped it with a chuckle and headed out to the living room to more comfortable seating, Tom following him. When the two guests were finished tidying up, they followed suit.

“You guys want a tour of the apartment?” Edd asked cheerfully. “It’s not much, but I’m pretty proud with what I’ve done with the place.”

“ _You’ve_ done?” Tom scoffed. “Like I didn’t put as much work in as you.”

“Of course, darling,” Edd dismissed with a flick of his wrist. “Anyways, you wanna see?”

“Sure,” Matt agreed, while Tord just nodded his head. Edd practically bounced at their affirmative answers.

“Right this way!” he chimed, gesturing his arm towards doorway on their left.

The two entered, followed by the tenants of the apartment. The bedroom was very Edd and Tom. The lighting was soft, Edd having strung up Cola-bottle fairy lights around the room. Ringo meowed softly at the intruders from her seat in the open window, which looked down onto a lawn behind the building. The bed was a mixture of their colors. Green pillows covered the left side of the bed, blue on the right. The bedspread was checkered like Tom’s Vans. Matt internally snorted at that. Looks like Edd had lost the bet for his choice of sheets.

The walls were covered in photos and posters of their interests. In here, there were only two photos from the wedding: the one of them at the alter alone from the photo shoot, and one from the reception with all the guests in it. Posters included a vintage classic Pac-Man, a list of tour dates for Tom’s favorite band from four years ago, a slightly-faded Adventure Time from when it originally started airing, and some comic book characters. The one that stuck out most to Matt was the one of Deadpool riding a unicorn with “#gayrights” printed under it.

“So, this is our room!” Edd cheered. He walked over to Ringo and gave her a few gentle pats. “Ringo’s technically not supposed to be here,” he whispered, “so if you see our landlord, you know _nothing_.”

“Maybe she shouldn’t be sitting in the open window then?” Tord commented dryly. Edd gave him a pouting face, which immediately turned Tord bright red.

“But she loves fresh air!”

“I’m just saying…” Tord muttered to himself as he avoided Edd’s eyes.

“But, yeah,” Edd said, walking back towards the bed. “This is our humble abode. Oh, Tom, go show Matt the bathroom! Matt, you’re absolutely gonna love what we did with it!”

Tom sent his husband a suspicious glance, but said nothing. Instead, he walked over to the door and walked across the small hall to another door. Matt followed in suit, trying to ignore the spike in adrenaline he had gotten.

Once they’d left, and Edd was fairly sure they were out of earshot, he turned back to Tord with a smile. Tord raised an eyebrow, clearly confused as to the Brit’s intensions.

“God, it’s so good to see you, Tord,” he started happily.

Tord returned the look, though his face was already on fire. “It’s good to see you too, Edd.”

“And it’s so nice to see you happy again!” he continued. He gently clasped Tord’s hands in his own and gave them a little squeeze.

Tord thought he was going to die right there. This was much more physical intimacy than he was used to from Edd, and his heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. He could feel his palms getting sweaty, which he mentally cursed himself for. He wanted to wipe them off, but he couldn’t bear the thought of this interaction ending.

_Cherish this._

**You get this all the time from Matt.**

_Matt’s not_ him.

“You know, I never really saw Matt as your type, but you two seem good together. You really seem so much happier with him.”

**_Fuck._ **

Tord felt like he’d been hit by a truck. A semi-truck, going 80 kilometers per hour, that drove into him and flung him into a brick wall. He wanted to fall to his knees right there, but he wouldn’t let himself. Instead, he grasped Edd’s hands more tightly, trying to find stability. The room was beginning to spin around him, and he thought he might throw up the lovely dinner the light of his life had made him. Tears began pricking at the corners of his eyes, clouding his vision.

“No,” he declared, much more forcefully than he had intended. “Matt and I aren’t…aren’t….” He couldn’t get the word out. The idea was just so absurd that he couldn’t even say it.

Edd’s face fell and he looked away guiltily. “Oh, I’m sorry, Tord. I just thought—”

“God,” Tord muttered under his breath before he pulled his hands from Edd’s grasp. He tried to subtlety wipe his wet eyes, but Edd was extra attentive to every move he made right now. “You’re just dying for me to forget about you, aren’t you?”

“What?” Edd asked. His face fell and he averted his eyes once more when he realized what Tord meant. “Tord, no, it’s not about that.”

“Isn’t it?” Tord accused, his voice getting louder and more aggressive.

_What are you doing?_

**Not putting up with this bullshit any longer.**

_He didn’t mean it._

**Sure he didn’t.**

“Because that’s what it’s about for me,” he continued. “And it feels like you’ve been dying to get rid of me for years now!”

“Tord—”

“I know nothing will ever happen. But I can’t just move on. I can’t forget about you. And you can’t go on like this, isn’t that right?”

_Don’t put words in his mouth._

**Shut the fuck up.**

Edd stood perfectly still, looking taken aback by Tord’s outburst. He let out a sigh before silently tucking his hands into his jean pockets.

“I just want you to be happy, Tord. I hate seeing you like this.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve been like this for 10 years. This isn’t new.”

“No, it’s not. But…this has gone on too long, Tord. You were right. I did hope you and Matt were together because I was hoping you were moving on from this.”

**Told you so.**

_It’s your turn to shut the fuck up._

“You have to let me go, Tord. Please, for everyone’s sakes. We all need to move on.”

“You don’t say shit like that to Matt!” His voice broke at the end of his exclamation. Tears silently began streaming down his cheeks. He forcefully wiped them away, not even trying to be discreet.

_You just have to ruin everything, don’t you?_

“Hey, everything alright—?” Tom was interrupted as Tord shoved past him and slammed the bathroom door. Tom looked back to his husband, whose own eyes were beginning to water. He was staring after Tord with shock and confusion. He glanced down at Tom, as if he had the answer. But his husband looked just as bewildered.

“Edd?” Tom asked gently, an offer for help. Edd sat down on their bed and buried his face in his hands.

“I just…need a minute.” Tom nodded, even though he couldn’t see it, and shut the bedroom door on the way out.

He returned to the living room to find Matt, sitting on the couch and looking incredibly guilty. He didn’t look up when Tom entered the room, but he did speak.

“I’m sorry.”

Tom shoved his hands inside his hoodie pocket and took Tord’s former place on the couch. He noticed Matt flinch out of the corner of his eye as he sat down.

“Can you just please tell me what’s going on?” he pleaded, looking at Matt with desperate eyes.

Matt refused to meet his gaze, but he nodded anyways. He didn’t want Tom to know this stuff, to know the lengths he’d gone to to feel somewhat whole again. How desperate he was to find affection, no matter how disingenuous or fake. Tom would think he’s so desperate. But after Tord’s outburst, he knew an explanation was due.

“Tord’s been taking the marriage…pretty hard.” He snuck a peek at Tom’s face, trying to gauge his reaction. But the latter just sat there, waiting, his face blank.

“I think he just, doesn’t know how to move on. Like, where to even begin. So, he just kind of drowns himself in distractions.”

“Like what?” Tom pressed, expression still blank.

“Same stuff he did when we all lived together: hentai, smoking, shooting range, drugs sometimes. But he…needed more, I guess.”

“And that’s where you come in?”

Matt’s face bloomed red as a rose. “And that’s where I come in.”

“So, what, are you fuckbuddies?”

Matt’s face felt like it was on fire. He never thought he could feel this hot without having a fever. Maybe he does have a fever. Maybe this is all just a fever dream. Maybe he’ll wake up soon and Tord will be pressing an ice pack to his forehead and telling him to get more sleep. He wanted to hide his face in his hands or under his hoodie’s hood, but the gig was already up. Tom already knew how pathetic he was.

“I, um, don’t know what we are,” he finally settled on. “At first, yeah. That was all. But. I’m not sure it’s that…simple anymore.”

“Do you like him?”

Matt opened his mouth, ready to dismiss the crazy suggestion, but closed it again. Did he like Tord? No, he couldn’t. He was still in love with Tom. Besides, that’s what his bond with Tord was based on: they were both heartbroken over men they can’t have. But it wasn’t just mindless sex anymore, and Matt knew that. He figured Tord did, too, but there was no way in hell he would admit that. Matt opened his mouth once more, before closing it almost immediately. Finally, he settled on a response.

“I…don’t know.”

“Does he like you?”

Matt chuckled darkly at that. “No, not at all.”

“How do you know?”

“Did you just hear him in there?” Matt jammed his thumb in the direction of the bedroom.

Tom remained silent, but he put a firm hand on Matt’s knee. Matt jumped, surprised by the touch. He felt every train of thought freeze as he processed being in such close proximity with his love. Tom ducked his head to meet Matt’s eyes. The look on his face drew Matt out of his stupor. He looked very concerned.

“Matt, I need you to be honest with me.”

“I am being honest with you.”

“No, I know. I just…need you to be totally open with me with my question.”

Matt nodded, feeling the butterflies in his stomach pick up their fluttering.

“Is he harming you in any way?”

Matt froze. He studied Tom’s face, trying to find some sort of explanation in the depths of his black eyes or the lines on his forehead or the stubble on his chin.

“What?” he whispered.

“He’s just been acting so weird with you this evening. He doesn’t want Edd or I to see you being affectionate. He ignored you every time you tried to make eye contact. The tension between you two is so thick, I’d need a meat cleaver to cut it.”

“He’s not hurting me, Tom. I appreciate the concern, but….”

“I just….” Tom looked away, but left his hand on Matt’s knee. “I’m worried he’s using you.”

Matt chewed his lip, thinking of the best way to move forward. He was feeling warmed by Tom’s concern for his wellbeing, and he couldn’t deny his almost protective nature excited him. But, he couldn’t lie to Tom. He knew telling the truth would just make him seem even more pathetic, but Tom deserved the truth. He always deserves the best.

“We both are using each other, Tom. That’s how this all started.”

“What do you mean?”

Matt gently slid Tom’s hand off his knee. Tom gave him a perplexed look, but didn’t make a move.

“We were both…struggling with the wedding. We both needed a distraction. And all we had available was…each other.”

Tom just stared at him. Matt thought he was going to die right there on the spot. Oh god Tom hated him now, he thought he was such a loser and a slut. How desperate do you have to be to sleep with your roommate? Or worse, with your best friend?

“So, um. Yeah. He may be using me, but I’m using him, too. I’m not innocent in this.”

“No, maybe not.” Matt flinched at the comment. He snuck a gaze at his friend and was surprised that Tom didn’t look disgusted. Or angry. Or even disappointed. He still looked neutral.

“But, you actually care about him.”

Matt again chuckled lowly. “How do you know that?”

“Matt. You can fool the others, but you can’t fool me. I saw the way you looked at him, the way you kept checking up on him, offering him support. You were so goddamn worried about him all evening.”

“Yeah, I mean. He was really scared of this evening. He didn’t know how to cope with you and Edd officially living as a married couple.”

“And you cared enough to help him through it.”

Matt opened his mouth to protest, but stopped himself. He could argue all day, but Tom saw through him. Every. Damn. Time. This was no different. Even if Matt wasn’t ready to admit he cared so much about Tord, Tom was going to drag his emotions out and make him face them.

“Yeah, I did. I do.”

Tom flashed him a small smile and sunk into the couch cushions with a sigh.

“You don’t fool me, Matt. Never have.”

Matt scoffed and crossed his freckled arms over his chest. “Yeah, I know.”

“So, you gonna admit you like him?” Tom continued, a knowing, clever smile on his face.

Matt looked away, opting to stare at the wedding photo he’d been so fixated on earlier. He let a smirk steal his face.

“Not yet.”

Tom laughed, with a playful shove to the ginger’s shoulder. Tom’s laughter was contagious, and, despite the evening’s events and problems, Matt found himself laughing, too. He’d forgotten how much he loved that laugh.

“Hey, Matt?” Tom asked as his laughter died.

“Yeah?” Matt glanced over at him. His void eyes were fixated on the ceiling, but his smile was still in place.

“I’ve always meant to say this, but never had the nerve. But after everything, I just want to say thank you.”

Matt looked at him, allowing their gazes to meet and hold. He didn’t care how red his face was getting or how much the butterflies were flapping desperately in his stomach.

“What for?”

“For sacrificing some of your happiness for us.”

Matt felt tears threatening to fall. A surprised hand covered his mouth, despite its shakiness.

“You know?”

“Matt, I’ve always known. What part of ‘you’ve never fooled me’ did you not understand?”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I just decided to never bring it up if you didn’t. I didn’t want to upset you. I saw the way you pushed Edd towards me, and I knew you must be struggling through enough without me…I don’t know, exposing you?”

Matt hummed in understanding. Well, the cat was out of the bag. Or, always had been. But now it wasn’t a point of contention anymore. Still, Matt had one major worry.

“Does Edd know?”

“I honestly don’t know. Edd’s pretty oblivious. But with the stunt Tord pulled back there, maybe not anymore.”

“Great,” Matt mumbled, finally hiding his face in his hands. “Edd’s going to hate me.”

“What? No, he’s not. If anything, he’ll appreciate what you did for him.”

“He’ll feel guilty!”

“Yeah, well, he still feels guilty about rejecting Tord so…not really your fault.”

“He feels guilty for that?”

“God, yeah. He’s never let himself live it down. Even though he did nothing wrong.”

Matt nodded silently, thinking about how fucked up this all was. It was worse than he’d ever imagined.

“This friend group is a disaster.”

Tom laughed at that. “God, you can say that again. I guess this is what happens when you stick a bunch of queer men together.”

He patted Matt on the shoulder before standing up and walking down the hall.

“I’m going to check on Edd. It might be best if you and Tord head home for the evening. We can get together again this weekend.”

“Oh, okay,” Matt agreed. He followed after Tom, but before he could knock on the bathroom door, he found two arms coiling around his waist. Matt tried his hardest to ignore the knots strangling his insides and his racing heartbeat. He returned the embrace, letting his eyes close. God he had missed this. After a few seconds, the duo untangled themselves and flashed each other warm grins. Tom then turned his back to Matt and went into his bedroom. Matt waited until the door was closed before knocking on the bathroom door.

“Tord?” he called out softly. He heard sniffles from inside the small room. “Can I come in?” Tord knew better than to lock the bathroom door when he had meltdowns. The last time he had, he’d refused to come out or respond to Matt, prompting the latter to almost call the police. Tord had stopped locking him out after that.

He waited for a response for several seconds, then entered anyways. Tord was sitting with his knees pulled against his chest, his face pressed into them.

“Come on,” Matt said gently as he offered his hands out to his roommate. “Let’s go home.”

Tord took his hands and allowed Matt to pull him up. He let Matt wrap an arm around his shoulders as he led him out of the bathroom and back towards the front door.

“I can make us some tea when we get home?” the ginger offered. Tord just nodded his head slowly. Matt couldn’t help but feel his heart break a little. He hadn’t seen Tord so broken up in quite a while.

When the duo got home, Tord immediately ran to his room and flung himself on the bed. Matt could hear him sobbing as he boiled water for the tea. He sent a quick text to Tom, asking how Edd was doing. He said he was better, but he’s really worried about Tord. Matt said he didn’t blame him.

Matt brought his depressed friend his tea once it was ready. He set it on the bedside table, seeing as Tord was still buried face down in his pillows. Matt hesitantly sat down beside him on the bed. Before he could even offer reassurance, Tord launched himself into Matt’s chest, burying his face near his heart. Matt ran a delicate hand through the other man’s hair.

“It’s okay, love,” he shushed. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

Without thinking, he leaned forward and pressed an awkward kiss to the top of Tord’s head. He instantly regretted it, fearing Tord pushing him away. But he didn’t. If anything, he wrapped his arms around Matt a little tighter.

Matt wished he could lie and pretend his face didn’t heat up. He wished he didn’t instinctively press Tord closer. He wished he didn’t want to kiss Tord again.

But most of all, he wished Tom hadn’t once again made him painfully aware of a truth he wasn’t ready to face.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed that! I'm working on the next part (which will be multi-chaptered). But I am going to be quite busy starting in about a week. So, I'm going to try to have that out before then, but no promises.
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me and reading! Love y'all <3


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